UT Austin Admission: Your Application Timeline

Preparing to apply to the University of Texas - Austin? Here's the Information You Need for UT Austin Admission: Your Application Timeline

Applying to college is a good lesson in project management. To ensure any project stays on time, you need to understand the basis of the timeline. 

Here are the basics of the University of Texas-Austin’s application timeline for first-time incoming freshmen. 

UT Austin uses the Common Application to collect applications for admission. The platform "opens" each year for the new admission cycle on August 1.

UT Austin offers two ways for students to apply: Early Action (non-binding) and Regular Decision (the last and final deadline to apply).

Your application to UT Austin is not complete until you have submitted ALL of the required materials, which will be detailed item-by-item below. All of these additional documents must be received by the specific deadlines associated with whether you chose to apply for Early Action or Regular Decision.

UT AUSTIN ADMISSION APPLICATION TIMELINE

Because specific dates can fluctuate slightly from year to year, here is what a typical UT Austin application timeline will look like:

• Application Opens: August 1

• Early Action Deadline to Apply: October 15

• Early Action Deadline for Supplemental Materials: October 23

• Regular Deadline to Apply: December 1

• Regular Deadline for Supplemental Materials: December 11

• Early Action Decisions Released: January 15

• All Decisions Released: February 15

• Honors Decisions Released: March 1

One of the most common questions asked about the UT Austin application timeline is “Does applying earlier increase my chances of admission?” 

The short answer here is no. 

The longer answer deserves space here, too. The truth is, admission to the University of Texas-Austin has changed significantly in the last 5 years. Many of the students and families who ask if applying earlier increases their likelihood of admission are doing so because friends and family with students who applied to UT Austin in the past might have found that submission of an earlier application did result in their admission ahead of the typical notification delivered to the majority of applicants. This is NOT the case anymore. 

Whenever a college or university enacts an Early Action application deadline, they are doing so to manage the application process, manage their internal workflow, and manage applicants’ expectations around the timeline of notification. 

Colleges and universities that notify students more quickly based on the completion date of their application are practicing ROLLING ADMISSION. UT-Austin does not practice rolling admission. While Texas residents who meet the criteria for automatic admission will get notification of that admission earlier than others, they can still expect to wait until the stated admission notification dates for information about whether they were admitted to their first-choice major. 

Does this mean you should wait until the application deadline to submit your application? Absolutely not. There are so many good reasons not to do that! What it does mean is that there is no reason to pressure yourself or your student into completing the UT Austin application by August 2nd. There is no benefit in doing so, and rushing an application is never a good idea. 

UP NEXT: UT Austin Admission: Organizing Your Application Materials

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